Unraveling Time
by hangrywriter
Summary: Elise Bellarosa was not supposed supposed to be here. Here was the 1940s with Theodore Nott, a boy she hadn't talked to for years. But why does he make her feel some way? But thats not as important as the young Dark Lord who frequents the girl's lavatory more than the boy's. (Theodore Nott/OC/Tom Riddle) Nothing is how it seems at Hogwarts during the First War.
1. Author's Note

p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"Hey guys. Thank you for reading unraveling time but I am actually happy to say that I will be editing unraveling time. The old chapters will still be up until I have five chapters ready to post. The story was progressing too fast and I felt the characters were giving whiplash. Also, I will have someone beta read the new ones so if anyone is interested please message me. I've finished the first chapter on the edited version and am halfway through the second one. Thank you. /p 


	2. Chapter 1

_The Problems Associated with the Name Gaston_

Elise stared at the gargoyle and looked back at the letter in her hands. She reread Dumbledore's swooped handwriting hoping to find some sort of instruction to go to his office but instead the note only had the date and time. She even had to ask the head girl where the office was. Elise looked back at the gargoyle and reached over to tickle it like the pear that goes to the kitchens when a deep somber sounding voice stopped her.

"Butterbeer," the voice said and when Elise turned around she saw Theodore Nott. Sometimes it still surprised her how much he had changed from being outspoken to a secluded person but she had supposed that happened to anyone if a major loss had occurred in front of them. Elise must have stared too long at him because Nott raised a thick dark brow and Elise blushed a little before running up the stairs, ignoring the moving stairs and almost tripping over herself. She heard a chuckle as Nott probably stood on the stairs waiting to go up but she ignored it before slamming Dumbledore's door open, leading to a flurry of papers and Fawkes looking at her angrily. The Sorting Hat grumbled and seemed to shift around to get comfortable and the portraits behind Dumbledore ignored her. Though she heard one of them mutter something about imbeciles from the continent.

"Oh flobberworms," Elise yelled with a wince. She reluctantly met Dumbledore's eyes but he was smiling at her and with a wave of his wand his office was in the state of how it was before. Elise sat down, her face burning, and meekly spat out a sorry. She felt a warm presence beside her and from her peripheral vision she saw Nott sit down, his face impassive and his sharp eyes trained on Dumbledore.

"Miss Bellarosa-Grey and Mr. Nott, would you like a lemon drop?"

Elise mumbled a yes and quickly put one in her mouth when Dumbledore reached one out towards her. The taste was tangy but sweet and she soon regretted biting in on the sweet as her teeth felt like it was stuck together. Nott had declined and still had not let up with his stiff position in his chair. Dumbledore still had offered another one to Nott, not letting up, and Nott had taken it and quickly tossed it to Elise. Elise was surprised: although her Chaser reflexes stopped the candy from hitting her in the face, it didn't stop her hand. She just rubbed the spot near her eye and straightened up, waiting for Dumbledore to continue.

"Miss Bellarosa-Grey and Mr. Nott, I think you both will feel surprised to know that I have met you both before, about fifty years in the past." At this Elise felt Nott stiffen next to her and she was sure that her eyes had doubled in size. Dumbledore paused and looked at them and their expressions before pressing a kind expression onto his face again.

"If I remember correctly, you both had come to Hogwarts as refugees from France escaping Grindlewald's reign of terror. And now that we are once again in front of each other and I have grown older, I know why. You see, the war isn't getting any better. Voldemort's forces are increasing at a rapid rate," at this Elise sharply breathed in because Dumbledore had spoken the Dark Lord's name and she felt her respect for Dumbledore grow an inch or two. If Nott was surprised or if he felt any emotion, he did not show it on his impassive face though at the mention of the Dark Lord, his face seemed to pale.

"I need you both to go back to a young Voldemort's time as you have done before and retrieve something for me. Something that in his hands will ruin the Wizarding World as we know it. I want you both to retrieve an amulet. Ravenclaw's Amulet to be exact." At this Elise narrowed her eyes slightly as she thought. She's never heard of Ravenclaw having an amulet; she's only heard of the diadem. Dumbledore continued.

"The Amulet was forged by Rowena Ravenclaw for her daughter as a gift for her as Rowena had known that Death was near. But her daughter had stolen her diadem and ran away, hurting Rowena. Rowena in return hid the Amulet in Hogwarts."

"Professor," Elise started. "What had happened to her daughter?" At this Dumbledore smiled.

"Am I supposed to take this as you'll do this small favor for me?" Elise stared at her hands, conflicted. While she did want to help Dumbledore, she did have her own life and she didn't even know what she would do even if she did meet a younger Dark Lord. It has crossed her mind multiple times to kill him. Kill him and maybe her mother would be more lively and less sickly. Her family would be more together. But killing him would mean that there could be a chance of someone else rising to power.

"I'll do it." At this Elise whipped her head around to stare at Nott. His dark silver eyes were determined and he was staring at Dumbledore.

"But you don't have to do it," he whispered to Elise. At this, Elise had swallowed and stared at Nott.

"I'll also do it," Elise said as she stared at Nott. He was staring right at her and she looked away, blushing. If he noticed the air of tension around them, Dumbledore ignored it and started pulling a file and waving his wand to make another copy of it.

"This file can only be read by you two. There is basic information in here about what you have to do and I am giving you both a week to prepare yourselves. You might want to look into your genealogy and come up with a backstory. But no matter what you do," at this Dumbledore peered over at them from behind his glasses. "Remember that you should not change the past and that includes informing my past self about what you both are doing."

Elise nodded. Dumbledore looked up at the clock and directed his gaze upon them once again. "I think that it is time that you both return to enjoying your holiday and I will see you both once more within a week's time." At this Nott stood up and strode towards the door. Elise stayed where she was seated and took another lemon drop before murmuring a goodbye to Dumbledore with an incline of her head.

As she was exiting, she had popped the lemon drop in her mouth and had started her trek towards the Ravenclaw tower when someone grabbed her hand. Surprised, she grabbed the person's wrist and yanked them in front of her and glared. When she saw Nott she intensified her glare. Just because he was a bloody Slytherin didn't mean he had to sneak up on her from the shadows. If Nott noticed her glare, he ignored it and instead walked next to her. Elise felt it hard to keep up with the glare and instead made her face impassive again though that was rather difficult to do as the lemon drop had once again stuck to her teeth.

They walked in silence and Elise kept noticing the glances that Nott shot her whenever he thought she wouldn't notice. It was quite irritating and Elise was ready to demand what was wrong when he mumbled something. At this Elise looked up at him and stopped walking. Nott stopped too and sighed before grabbing her wrist and walking again. Elise pried his fingers a little to loosen his grip when she heard him.

"What are you doing at Hogwarts?"

"My parents are in the States right now. So, I'm stuck at Hogwarts until this Saturday and I can go spend Christmas with Grand-mère and Grand-père. What are you doing here," Elise asked staring at her shoes as they continued walking. Nott seemed to be processing this new bout of information and took his time with his answer.

"I just chose to be here," he replied but Elise knew that wasn't the full answer. Instead of prying and leading to Nott shutting down, she instead walked with him. She didn't say anything when his hand lightly brushed hers as he let go of her wrist and grabbed her hand instead; she didn't say anything when he took a turn that led in the direction of the library. Instead, she followed behind him and when they reached the library, they took a seat near the restricted area.

Elise pulled out her folder and Nott followed suit. When she opened up the folder she was met with parchment about the Gringotts account that she and Nott would use during their stay, their last names but not their first, a list of books they may want to use, and extensive report on Tom Riddle, who was said to be the young version of the Dark Lord. Elise felt herself deflate a little when she noticed that there was no picture of Tom Riddle and the description was barely a paragraph long. She instead bit her lip and furrowed her eyebrows as she read through what their identities were supposed to be.

In front of her was a document that described her along with her age but what confused her more than what year of Hogwarts she was supposed to be entering was her name. Her name was supposed to be Arielle Tempest Flauxwood according to the small book with a list of people and she was supposed to be a fifth year. But instead on the papers it stated that she would be going into her sixth year. Elise then looked over at Nott's papers and tried to stifle a laugh. He had chosen to be someone named Gaston!

When Elise pointed it out to him he just looked at her blankly.

"What's wrong with the name Gaston," Nott asked with a tilt of his head. Elise went into a one sided rant of how he represented the people that society favors, the people that seem to step on others, and at the end of it when she looked up at Nott he was nodding his head slightly. He picked up his quill and crossed out Gaston before writing Mikhael over it, leaving his name to be Mikhael Olivier Petrov.

"We should watch this movie that you're talking about," Nott said, staring into her eyes. Elise nodded and mumbled a yes while trying to fight off the blush on her cheeks. Nott seemed to take great pleasure in making her flustered and it was starting to annoy her that whenever he did, he seemed to have a mischievous glint in his eyes. Elise quickly stood up and tripped over her chair's leg slightly before walking to the wizard genealogy section.

She skimmed the books and was happy with the three books she had found about European purebloods, purebloods, and a book with the family trees of every pureblood wizarding family that apparently kept itself updated. When returned to the table that they were seated at, Nott was absorbed into reading about Tom Riddle.

While Elise was curious about Riddle and had wanted to read more about him, she was also scared. This boy was the young Dark Lord. This boy would become the wizarding world's mass murderer, hunting those who he said he wouldn't. But she was also curious to see why someone would ever want to take the path that Tom Riddle did. She couldn't understand why someone who had lived through two wars occurring around the same time would want to cause more war and destruction.

As she traced back the genealogy of the Flauxwood and Petrov families, she was surprised that they were also twisted into her family. The Flauxwood family was an influential French family whose main business seemed to be exporting different materials for wands. They even went as far as having unicorns and phoenixes at their many homes. The Petrov family was milder as they worked in the ministry and seemed to have moved to France when Communism was spreading in muggle Russia.

"Look for anyone who could have been alive in 1942," Nott said as he skimmed through the details of Riddle's profile, "and I guess I can go look for more books about Grindelwald and the muggle war. Maybe see how they correlate." Elise nodded and stared at Nott's back as he left, watching as how he put his hands in his pockets when he walked. She returned to reading when she found her persona, Arielle, in the book.

Arielle was said to have died in 1941 and when she checked under the Petrov family she found that both of their immediate families were dead around the same time. Though the Flauxwood family tree was missing some of their names, it was more apparent in the Petrov family. Elise felt a sprout of guilt grow in her, but she squashed it down with the promise that she wouldn't do anything deemed as terrible under the dead girl's name.

When she traced through the Petrov family tree she was surprised to see a Hogwarts professor listed. Apparently, she was what Elise was going to call Mikhael's aunt and according to the book she had found about the purebloods of Europe, she was the Defense teacher sent from the ministry after the Chamber of Secrets had been opened.

Elise quickly wrote down her name and picked up the parchment that the details about Riddle on it. She was expecting lots of information to be on there but instead was met with brief information about his upbringing and how he looks. The rest of the profile was about his courses and his interests along with information about the Amulet.

When Nott returned, Elise quickly shared what she discovered and they both stopped and agreed to meet in the library again when it opened tomorrow. Throughout the week, they spent their time reading through and researching the Amulet and building up their story. They studied the war and the fashion there and when it came time to meet Dumbledore again, Elise didn't feel as nervous as she thought she would.

Dumbledore stood in front of them and assessed the way they were dressed. He smiled and nodded approvingly, "Your choice of clothing reminds me of my younger days when I was just a professor."

Elise had made sure that she and Nott were dressed appropriately to the times. They simply had clothing made for them and with what they could make themselves, they did. Their trunks were furnished with era appropriate clothing and the materials they would need for their trip along with some money they may need. With their trunks shrunken and put in Elise's clasp purse, she thought of the inn they were supposed to floo to and from there travel back.

Dumbledore gave them a last farewell and Elise floo'd herself to the inn first with Nott following behind her. With her great-grandmother's authentic niffler fur cloak accentuated with unicorn hair and Nott's similar cloak to hers along with his shoes made of dragon scale, they were a sight to see in the inn. Most of the habitants that were up at this time openly gawked at them, but Elise ignored them knowing that they were dressed appropriately to the times.

Quickly, Elise and Nott exited the inn and they entered a dark alley area where they wouldn't be noticed. Elise stared at Nott and watched as he took out the time turner and wrapped the chain around both of their necks. Dumbledore said this time turner was different and more complicated than others as it was to take them a maximum of one hundred years into the past and therefore had more mechanisms.

Focusing her attention on what he was doing, Elise watched as he put the date and time in and with a final spin, they were both officially in the past. Elise looked up at Nott with a grin and said, "Let's spice it up Nott."


	3. Chapter 2

_Have You Ever Met a Liar as Brilliant as Me?_

It was absolutely boring in the connected room they had in the inn. They had decided to stay there for about a week and correspond with Kira Petrov and see if she could help them get into Hogwarts. At this moment, Elise was staring up at the ceiling with her hair drying and Nott was reading through the letter they had gotten.

They both had gotten up early and were in Nott's room. While Elise had seen this as a good time to get ready, Nott had seen it as a good time to get straight to work. Two hours had passed and Nott still hadn't had anything to eat so Elise got up. At the sound of the bed creaking as she clambered up, Nott's head shot up, his fringe fluffing up and covering his tired silver eyes.

"Where are you going," he asked his voice hoarse and raspy sounding. Elise passed him and opened the door, looking out into the hallway of the inn.

"I'm going to get us something to eat."

When Elise returned with a tray of earl grey tea, toast, and jam she expected Nott to still be sitting where she had left him. Instead, he was nowhere to be found. Elise set down the tray and sat down at the desk where Nott was sitting before preparing the tea and spreading jam on the toast. As she was spreading the jam to the corners, she heard a tapping noise and opened the window, letting in a beautiful white and tawny colored owl.

The owl hooted and perched on the windowsill but Elise was backing away from the owl. Owls have always frightened her when she was a child. The owl sat adamantly on the windowsill hooting at her and Elise swallowed. It was obvious the owl wasn't going to drop off the letter and just leave, it was waiting for a reply.

Shaking, Elise walked towards the owl taking slow, even steps before reaching the windowsill. She tried to snatch the letter away from the owl but it playfully snipped at her, causing her to let out a squeak of surprise. Again, she tried again and the owl, sensing her fear, stood still while extending its leg towards her. Elise grabbed the letter in her shaking hands and walked backwards, eventually bumping into the bed and falling over.

She heard the door creak open and looked between her legs that were up to see Nott wearing a towel and drying his hair walking out of the bathroom that connected their rooms, looking in his wardrobe for clean clothes. Feeling the blush rising on her cheeks, Elise focused on rolling backwards until she was in a sitting position. Instead, she had rolled off the bed and was sprawled on the floor. She felt Nott's presence rather than heard it, but that could have been her screaming too loudly to hear anything properly. The owl hooted at her and went back to eating her toast.

"Are you alright," Nott asked helping Elise up but she sputtered looking at anything but his naked torso and his dark, wet hair falling into his eyes. Knowing fully well that she was red in the face she looked down and immediately regretted it, seeing that Nott was still in his towel.

"You need to go get dressed." The words rushed out of Elise's mouth as she turned her face away from Nott and fanned herself with the letter before giving up and lightly smacking her face.

"But are you okay," Nott asked again and Elise mumbled a yes, focusing now on the letter in her hands and opening it. She heard the groan of the floorboards as Nott walked back towards his wardrobe.

"Don't look," he called out, but Elise wasn't going to look. She was sure that if her blood rushed into her face once more she was permanently going to have a red face and with that she might as well just die. As she opened up the letter, Elise was met with the immaculate handwriting of Kira Petrov.

 _Mikhael,_

 _I am deeply sorry if I offended you as I have not been in contact with my family in a very long time. I would love for you to stay with me and attend Hogwarts with your friend but I am very apprehensive. There is a war going on and you do not simply know who to trust at times like these. I am sorry to hear about the passing of my brother and his family but hopefully we can meet outside of these words. I'm suggesting that we have dinner at 6 tonight. If you can come, please meet me in front of Gringotts in Diagon Alley. Diagon Alley is located behind a pub and inn called the Leaky Cauldron in the heart of London. If you cannot make it then maybe we can meet later as I would love to meet you and your friend. Last time I saw you, you were nearly the size of both of my hands. Send your reply with Solar (apologies in advance if he eats any of your food, he's particularly fond of toast)._

 _Kira Petrov_

Elise chewed on her lip as she read through the letter. Since it was the end of July and September was fast approaching, it would be nice to have someone help them with the admission process and this did give them an excuse to go to Gringotts as they were running low on funds, partially because of Nott's sweet tooth and mostly because Elise's endless pit for a stomach. But on the other hand, did they really want to involve another person in their life before they left 1942 altogether?

"Are you dressed yet," Elise asked Nott, not daring to turn around and check.

"I'm dressed," Nott called back to her as he walked towards where Elise was standing and peered down at the letter in her hand.

"This brilliant," he cried as he snatched the letter out of her hand rushed off to write a reply to Kira. Elise stayed where she was and watched as he quickly wrote a reply and sealed the letter with his wand. In about a minute's time, the letter was sealed and the owl was on its way after it had finished the toast that Elise was spreading jam on.

Nott went to his wardrobe and started pulling his clothes out. Sighing, Elise just waved her wand and the clothes started folding and packing themselves into his trunk.

"Come on, you need to eat," Elise said as she warmed up the toast and tea again with a prod of her wand. She put six cubes of sugar into a cup and set it aside before picking up some toast and spreading the jam. When she was satisfied, she took the toast and tea, put them on a separate smaller tray, and handed it to Nott.

"Here you go," Elise said with a smile before turning to leave. But Nott had grabbed her wrist and when she turned around, he was holding a piece of toast out towards her.

"You also need to eat," he said with a serious look on his face, "If you don't eat your pit of a stomach will growl and the last time that had happened we received too much attention."

Elise pouted a little before taking the toast and sitting down at the desk, far away from Nott.

They left the inn after having breakfast and used the inn's floo to travel to the Leaky Cauldron. With their trunks shrunk and in the Elise's inside pocket and in their evening clothes, they were ready for dinner. They didn't dare get a room at the Cauldron. Just in case that Kira will let them stay with her. They were ready except for the fact that they were six hours early.

"I'm hungry," Elise whined as she pulled on Nott's sleeves.

"Of course, you are," he replied as he scanned the Leaky Cauldron.

At that Elise pouted as she stared up at him. Nott just sighed and led them out of the Cauldron and led them to Diagon Alley. Diagon Alley looked similar to how it was in their time but what surprised her the most was Knockturn Alley. In their time, Knockturn Alley was filled with the Dark Arts but here, Knockturn Alley seemed like it hosted the places where the wealthy would peruse to their heart's content.

If Nott was surprised, it didn't show on his face as he led her down to Gringotts. They pulled out their keys as they waited in line behind a group of boys that seemed to be around their age. One of the boys turned around suddenly, taking Elise by surprise.

"Hello Miss, could you tell me if you find my friend here attractive," he asked, jerking his thumb in the direction of a boy who had white blonde hair. Elise realized with a start that this boy was Abraxas Malfoy, Draco Malfoy's grandfather who had bored her to death inside his portrait whenever she visited Malfoy Manor. Nott shifted slightly beside her and the boy stopped grinning at her before looking up at Nott.

Not wanting to start any trouble or disrespect people who were bound to be as old as her grandparents, Elise quickly spoke up.

"Your friend has really nice hair," Elise said, successfully drawing the attention of the group and Nott. "But there is no point in being attractive if you don't have the personality to match."

With that the line moved up and the dark haired boy who had questioned Elise winked at her before blowing her a kiss goodbye. Elise felt her face burn and quickly looked at the ground as they walked to the front of the line and reached the goblin. The goblin took them underground and into their vaults.

There were massive mounds of gold in both vaults and Elise and Nott both filled up their pouches before exiting Gringotts.

"Can we get food now."

At that, Nott ran his fingers through his hair before checking his watch.

"It's one o'clock so we should go and get lunch."

And with that they walked down Diagon Alley arguing about where to eat.

"I want to eat where there are lots of sweets. So, I think we should go to that parlor over there," Nott said pointing to a bright ice cream parlor down the street. At that Elise scowled a little.

"They just serve ice cream there you dimwit," Elise said, smacking Nott's arm. Nott just rubbed his arm and scowled back at her though his silver eyes were gleaming with laughter.

"If you don't mind," a new voice interjected, "why don't you both enjoy a meal with my friends and I?"

Elise looked up and smiled at the boy who was winking at her from the line at Gringotts. Nott didn't seem to be on the same page as her since the gleam in his eyes vanished and he put up his signature tough Slytherin act.

Elise rolled her eyes at Nott and followed the boy. Nott followed behind rather reluctantly and she could feel herself heating up from his stare.

"Are you ever going to introduce yourself," Elise asked the boy as he led her through the street into Knockturn Alley. This seemed to lessen Nott's stare on her as it probably shifted to the boy.

"Pardon me for being so rude. My name is Alphard Black," he said with a grin as he ran a hand through his shoulder length dark hair.

"And we are here," Black said, opening the door to let Elise and Nott in. They walked towards a private room where the rest of the boys were, talking and looking over the menus. As they walked over, everyone looked up at them and stopped talking. Nott pulled out a chair for Elise and pushed her chair in before taking a seat beside her while Black took a seat on her other side.

"Alphard," drawled Abraxas Malfoy as he looks Elise and Nott over, "aren't you going to introduce us to your new… friends?" At this Black avoided Malfoy's eyes as he stared at Elise and Nott, pleading for them to step in as they never got to introducing themselves.

"Please do excuse us," Nott spoke up looking Malfoy directly in the eyes, "My name is Mikhael Petrov and this is Arielle Flauxwood. We are from France and are hoping to attend Hogwarts. And you are?"

Malfoy started introducing everyone around the table. A boy with dark brown hair and brown eyes was introduced to be Rainier Lestrange and the blonde haired, blue eyed boy next to Rainier was Landon Rosier. Next to Landon was a boy with chestnut hair and dark blue eyes named Dorrin Avery. And seated next to Dorrin and an empty chair was a boy that scared Elise. He had dark silvery eyes that looked almost black and dark reddish brown hair. When he was introduced by Malfoy to be Darius Mulciber, the number of teeth he showed Elise when he smiled at her seemed to be double the normal amount.

Sensing that she was uncomfortable, Black put his hands together and clapped before saying that lunch was on him, leading to everyone letting out a small cheer.

Lunch with the Slytherin boys wasn't so bad as Black kept making her laugh with his cringey attempts to flirt with her. Elise made sure to keep her distance from Mulciber and his multiplying teeth throughout the whole lunch and when she and Nott left the others the time was around four o'clock.

"The food was so good," Elise said, patting her stomach. Nott didn't say anything and when she turned to look at him he was staring straight ahead. Black was walking on the other side of Elise and laughed. The other boys were in front of them and they all seemed to be heading towards the Leaky Cauldron.

"Of course, you thought the food was good. How many servings of potatoes did you even get?" With that Elise jabbed Alphard in the stomach and saw Nott scowl slightly at Alphard's comment.

"Alphard," a shrill voice screeched and Elise looked at the little shop near the ice cream parlor that Nott wanted to eat at. Standing in front of the small jewelry shop was a girl who looked to be a few years older than her and two younger boys. The girl and one of the boys looked to be related as they had the same color of icy blue eyes. The other boy had lighter chestnut hair and silver eyes.

Alphard sighed and walked towards the girl but when he got to the boys, he ruffled their hair slightly. Elise stopped and moved to the side to wait for him, Nott following behind her like a shadow.

"What do you want Walburga," Alphard asked the girl with a sigh, shifting from foot to foot, obviously annoyed. Walburga instead glared at him before pushing the two boys towards Alphard.

"Father said that you were to watch Cygnus and Elias. I have to meet Lucretia soon for tea and discuss betrothals." While Walburga continued to chew out Alphard, the boys, Cygnus and Elias had moved towards Elise and Nott.

"Cygnus Black," the blond haired boy with the same sharp blue eyes as Walburga said as he thrust out his hand towards Nott. Nott shook his hand and Elise stared as Walburga left in a flurry of white.

"Mikhael Petrov and this fine lady beside me is Arielle Flauxwood." Elise watched as the gears turned in Cygnus's head as he nodded slightly.

"You both are purebloods from France, aren't you?." Elise nodded her head and there was an awkward pause in the conversation; which, the other younger boy took it to himself to introduce himself as Cygnus had not.

"My name is Elias Nott. I'm going to be in my fifth year while Cygnus is going to be in his fourth." Elise felt Nott stiffen up beside her as his father introduced himself.

"Well," Alphard said interrupting their conversation, "I think it's about time that we part ways. I hope to see you both soon at Hogwarts." And with a peck on her hand and a wink, Alphard left with Cygnus and Elias.


	4. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has left a review. They really make my day and push me to write more chapters. And I hope you continue to enjoy the story. XO

 _All Aboard the Hogwarts Express_

Elise and Nott strolled around Diagon Alley for a little while before returning to Gringotts with almost and hour left. They didn't have to stand around awkwardly since there was only one woman standing in front of Gringotts, seemingly waiting for someone.

She was a beautiful woman with sharp features and cat-like hazel eyes. She was wearing her evening robes with her dark chestnut hair pulled up in a loose bun with strands of curls framing her face. When those cat-like eyes landed on Elise and Nott, her sharp face softened up as she walked down the stairs to join them at the base, her heels clicking.

"You must be Mikhael," the lady, Kira, cried to Nott as she looked up and patted his cheek, tears swelling up in her eyes. "You look so much like your father. The hair and the build and the eyebrows." At this Kira looked away from Nott and patted under her eyes with her handkerchief.

"And you must be Mikhael's friend," she exclaimed as she grabbed Elise's shoulders and pushed her face up and towards the side. "My, aren't you pretty," Kira said as she stepped forward to kiss Elise's cheek, sending a waft of rose around Elise.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet us," Elise said, inclining her head as a thanks.

"How could I not? Mikhael is my only family," Kira said looking up at Nott with warmth in her eyes.

Something behind Nott's shoulder seemed to catch Kira's attention and she quickly excused herself as she went to speak with a man who was wearing, in Elise's opinion, really tacky looking floral robes with what looked to have unicorn hair embedded in the floral design.

"We should change our middle names to our actual names," Nott said out of nowhere. Elise whipped her head over to look up at Nott. He was standing half in the shadows of the building. Elise stepped in closer towards him and asked why.

"It's so if one of us slips up it won't be such a big deal because they're our middle name." Elise nodded her head and squinted up at Nott. They were both enveloped in the shadows and Elise was close enough to see the light beauty mark on his full bottom lip.

Realizing she was staring, Elise tore her eyes away and instead focussed on her hands. Kira soon came back and ushered them to an apparition point and with the familiar tug of apparition, they were in front of a roaring fireplace in a small, bright sitting room in a manor home. There were boxes and boxes of items in what Elise could see of the foyer. Kira ushered them towards a simple dining room.

Dinner with Kira wasn't as awkward as Elise had thought it to be. Kira kindly avoided topics about the war and instead talked about anything but the war. They went from social functions to the Minister of Magic to now talking about Hogwarts.

"So you both want to attend Hogwarts," Kira asked politely, sipping her wine.

Elise nodded, her mouth full of steak. Nott simply muttered a yes as he pushed his potatoes and steak around his plate.

"It's the only school that seems safe since everyone is saying that Grindelwald is too scared to even come near Albus Dumbledore," Elise replied as she elbowed Nott to eat his food. He instead gave her a cold glance and returned to pushing his food around before draining his glass of wine.

Kira poured everyone some more wine as she seemed to mull things over.

"I could get both of you enrolled at Hogwarts but I'm going to have to pull some strings as they don't let outsiders in that often," Kira mumbled as she pushed her chair back and clapped her hands to clean everything.

"But before we talk about Hogwarts, let's get you both to bed. I had my house-elf prepare your beds. Hopefully the Minister will let me be your guardian. If not, I'll have to talk to someone else but that is a worry for another day."

As the summer went by and Kira finally got them enrolled at Hogwarts, September the first was finally here and Elise was still confused about one thing. How were they going to be sorted? Nott didn't seem to share Elise's worries and it made Elise's mood more aggravated at how nonchalant he seemed to be.

As Elise was opening the bathroom door after showering, she saw Nott and she pulled him into the steamy bathroom and locked the door.

Pulling her towel more up she listened to make sure Kira wasn't around and to make sure she casted the silencing charm before turning to address Nott.

"What do we do when we get to Hogwarts? Where should we meet up? What house should we get sorted into?"

Nott stared at her face for a second before pushing a wet curl out of her face.

"You should get dressed. We can talk later," he said trying to push past her but Elise stood in her place.

"No," she said crossing her arms over chest, "I think we should discuss this right now before leaving for Hogwarts."

Nott sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before answering.

"Just try to get sorted into Ravenclaw again. I'll handle Slytherin. And I know a quite place where we can meet up. And remember to keep your head down until the sorting is over. When classes are done then I guess it's a mad run to whoever catches Riddle's attention first."

And with one last look at her, he left, rubbing the back of his neck slightly.

Elise dressed herself in a creme blouse that she tucked into her red skirt, after drying herself. She dried her hair with a quick wave of her wand and put on some chapstick.

She quickly walked downstairs and sat down at the table, eating some coffee cake and drinking chamomile tea. Kira was pacing around the room, checking and rechecking everyone's luggage.

"Have you eaten anything," Elise asked Kira. Kira just nodded before going through her trunk one more time.

"Kira, take a deep breathe. We're just going to Hogwarts. And I'm sure you'll be wonderful. There is a reason why the minister chose you over everyone else for the job."

"Really," Kira asked, turning away from rummaging through her trunk to grip Elise's forearms tightly. Elise nodded at her and checked the time over Kira's head, looking at the grandfather clock.

"We better get our trunks ready. We'll be apparating to the station right?" Kira nodded.

"Because of the muggles dropping the bombs it's not safe to drive in those automobiles. Let alone, walk around in Muggle London," Kira explained. And with a wave of Kira's wand, Elise and Nott's trunks were shrunken down and Elise tucked them both into the pocket of her light coat.

"Mikhael," Kira called, "We're about to leave." Nott came downstairs and quietly stood by Kira's side and when Kira made sure they all had what they needed, they apparated to King's Cross. There weren't many people at the station as the train was going to leave in an hour but Kira had to drop off Elise and Nott off early if she wanted to see them off before returning to the ministry and then flooing to the headmaster's office.

"Now you two behave," Kira said as kissed Nott's cheek and straightened his coat.

"And remember, if you have any problems, just come and get me. I'll see you at Hogwarts." And with one more poke at Elise's hair to calm down the frizz of her curls, Kira apparated away after hugging them both, leaving Elise and Nott enveloped in the scent of roses.

It wasn't that difficult to find a carriage as they were some of the first people at the station. As they sat in the carriage, Elise immediately made sure that the time turner was tucked away in her lace handkerchief and stored in her little purse. Once she was sure that the time turner was tucked away safely, she took out the information that Dumbledore had provided them and looked it over one more time. By the time Elise was done marking and changing small details in the folder, more people started piling onto the train and Elise tucked the folder into her tiny purse and back into her trunk.

Elise got up to stretch, mindful of Nott following her, and as she walked down the hall of the train compartment; she ran into someone's broad chest. Elise groaned as she sat on the floor and when a hand went down to help her up she grabbed it and started thanking them.

When she saw who she was talking to, the first thing her eyes latched onto was the fact that this boy could be described as perfection itself.

His face was a pale color but with his dark brows and hair perfectly framing his perfectly symmetrical dark, almost black brown eyes, Elise felt like everything about him was disgustingly perfect.

Elise felt a silent, familiar presence behind her and she knew that it was Nott. Compared to the boy she ran into, Nott was abstract and full of imperfections with his beauty marks all over his face and his left dimple that sometimes showed when he was deep in thought or when he smiled. Or the rare moments when he would laugh and you could see both of his dimples.

Elise shook herself out of her thoughts about Nott and then noticed the shiny, green prefects badge on the boy.

"Oh, I'm very sorry. You need to get to your meeting right?"

The boy replied with a simple yes and moved Elise by the shoulders to the side. He stopped in front of Nott and Nott stared down at the boy before moving to stand next Elise, grabbing her hand. The boy's eyes caught the movement and he seemed to assess them before leaving with a sweep of his black robes.

"Can't believe we're already holding hands and you haven't even asked me out yet," Elise said with a gawdy wink. Nott smiled slightly and tugged on her hand.

"I saw Alphard so let's go say hello to him," Nott said tugging her in the opposite direction of the boy.

Elise and Nott walked in silence to where Alphard was standing next to his siblings. Walburga and Cygnus were seemingly looking for their friends and as soon as Walburga saw them, she left without a goodbye. When Alphard saw Elise and Nott, he started walking towards them with Cygnus and Elias behind them, the brunette and the blonde seemingly catching up by communicating through their eyes.

"Mikhael, Arielle, it is lovely to see you both. Please tell me you did end up grabbing an empty train car." Elise nodded.

"We did end up getting an empty car. Are Cygnus and Elias going to be staying with us then," Elise questioned with a slight cock of her head as she watched the two younger boys.

"Yes, they will be," Alphard said, assessing the look on Elise's face, "They are family and family looks after family no matter what." And with that Elise and Nott escorted their merry little 'gang' to their empty car.

As Alphard helped Cygnus with his trunk, Elise turned to Nott outside of their car. They stared at each other for a little while and Nott seemed to steel himself to spend time with the father he so despised. As he walked by, Elise squeezed his hand and in her head, she knew she had to be sorted into Slytherin so he could be sorted into Ravenclaw. Just to save him the pain of having to see the two men who have ruined his life every day.


	5. Author's Note and Update

**Hey guys! I'm just checking in with you guys in the middle of the COVID-19 stuff. Hope you all are safe and are taking the necessary precautions to stay safe. I haven't posted in a long time because I was sick but thankfully I am better. I will be posting the next chapter right after this. Also, quick question. Will you guys be alright if I also started posting another fanfic on the side? My friend just introduced me to ATLA and LOK and I literally cannot get Iroh II out of my head so hopefully I can write him out. Thank you guys for supporting me. If you ever need to talk, just PM and I'll respond as soon as possible. Love you guys so much, XO hangrywriter**


	6. Chapter 4

_Dearest Mr. Sorting Hat_

The train ride to Hogwarts started off as rather awkward and boring but slowly as more and more people came to visit them in their car, it became more enjoyable.

Right now, Elise was sitting on the floor braiding Alphard's hair while Landon Rosier was braiding the saxifrage that Dorrin Avery was transfiguring from their food wrappers into Elise's hair. Nott was talking to Rainier Lestrange about Hogwarts and Cygnus and Elias has left to go find their friends.

As Nott and Lestrange started talking about Hogwarts Houses, the door burst open and Abraxas Malfoy walked in with Darius Mulciber behind him along with the boy that Elise had run into.

Elise gave them a nod of acknowledgement and went back to braiding Alphard's hair. The three new boys settled into the carriage and the conversation picked up again.

"What house do you want to be sorted into Petrov," asked Lestrange.

This caught everyone in the cars attention as they listened in on the conversation. Elise finished plaiting Alphard's hair and turned to give Nott her full attention, making it look like that she had no idea either.

"I'd like to be sorted into Slytherin with all of you," Nott said as he glanced around the car, eyes never lingering on someone too long.

Everyone seemed to like Nott's response enough that they went back to what they were doing beforehand. But the boy that Elise had run into had finally addressed her, but only to ask her what house she would prefer, his eyes staring at what seemed to be her soul.

"Hufflepuff," Elise blurted out. At the disgusted looks on almost everyone' s faces, Elise clarified her answer.

"I heard it's near the kitchens." At this Alphard barked out a laugh and Rosier snickered slightly, shaking his chin length blond hair.

The only person who didn't seem to find her response funny was the boy she had run into. He just stared at Elise, seemingly not amused, and narrowed his eyes at her slightly before looking out the window.

Elise watched as the Slytherin boys trekked up a slightly downwards slope towards the carriages that were pulled by thestrals. She and Nott stood there until a looming figure walked towards. Looking up at who seemed to be a young Hagrid, Elise grinned up at him.

"If yer follow me up we'll take a boat right up to the castle with the little firsties."

Elise and Nott followed after Hagrid and clambered into separate boats after Elise and Nott failed to fit in one together since Nott's legs were too long for them to fit in comfortably. Many of the young first years were looking at Nott and Elise with fear on their face but Elise just waved her wand and birds came out before they turned into flower crowns falling onto their heads comfortably. Satisfied that they all looked fantastic, Elise leaned back slightly to get comfortable.

As they traveled through the smooth waters, Elise tore her eyes from the smooth, glistening water to look around. Nott was sitting in his boat with his knees up and his flower crown sitting at an angle over his dark hair. His stormy grey eyes were closed. Elise leaned over one side to look more closely at Hagrid and his flower crown that looked more like a wreathe when her boat tipped over and she fell into the lake with a slight scream.

Quickly swimming her way up, Elise tried to grab on to her small boat that was still moving forward on the lake but her hand kept slipping. After a couple more tries, she felt something grab her ankle. She tried to see what was holding on to her leg but the lake's water was too dark. Frantically looking around, she saw most of the first years straining to look at her while Hagrid was trying to paddle his way towards her with his arms. Nott had opened his eyes and was sending air behind him to push his boat against the magic pulling it towards the castle while also making paddles appear and making them row the boat themselves .

Elise tried one more time to free herself with a random spell towards the creature but instead she was dragged under the water. The next thing she knew was that she was thrown up and had been caught in her boat, which was settled on top of the water gently. She felt a tentacle touch her back gently before disappearing into the deep waters with a splash.

Shivering, Elise pushed her hair out of her face and scrambled to find her wand. It was under her sopping wet cloak. She quickly stripped off her cloak and started working on drying her clothes for the rest of the short trip to Hogwarts. When they had arrived at the Great Hall, Elise's clothes were still moist but they were not dripping everywhere. But her hair was a different story as it seemed to curl in a frizzy mess.

As Nott and Elise stood behind the first years, an older man with auburn hair and beard stepped in with a swish of his blue robes that somehow matched the twinkle in his eyes. It was Dumbledore, and seeing him made Elise's worries fade slightly. Even if there was a war going on with one of the darkest wizards of all time and even with a young Dark Lord in the castle, Elise felt that all could be well with Dumbledore at the castle.

"First years please line up," Dumbledore said with a gentle yet loud voice that effectively reached the ears of all the first years. All the first years gathered around in a little group while Elise and Nott stood at the sides. Leaving the first years to settle down and telling them to wait, Dumbledore walked towards Elise and Nott.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. I am the Transfiguration professor, Albus Dumbledore, but you may address me as Professor Dumbledore," Dumbledore's eyes were looking between them in slight suspicion as he continued.

"After all the first years have been sorted, you both will be sorted shortly after." Elise and Nott nodded and Dumbledore smiled, the twinkle in his eyes sparking again. With a wave of his wand, Elise was quickly dried off and her hair was slightly less frizzy.

"And one more thing," Dumbledore called behind him before opening the door. "The wisteria in the flower crowns smell rather pleasant," he said with a smile.

With that, Dumbledore opened the door to the Great Halland strode in, taking the stool and the Sorting Hat out of his pockets. The first years that were chattering quieted down and following behind them, Elise and Nott looked around. The Great Hall looked the same but the faces of the people seated there looked bleak. At this moment the war had seemed to have hit Hogwarts. But Elise's attention was drawn to her hand.

Nott's warm hand engulfed hers and stole her attention. As the Sorting Hat sang and the sorting began with _Burke, Dahlia,_ Elise could only focus on Nott's warm hand and how he would sometimes tap his fingers against her hand. Elise felt herself grow warm as more and more first years were sorted and by the time all the first years were sorted, she was sure that she looked like a homegrown roma tomato picked from its vine.

Elise snapped back into reality when Nott squeezed her hand. She blinked herself out of her daze and focused on Headmaster Dippet as he welcomed the first years. He went on to direct the school's attention to Elise and Nott, acting as almost everyone present in the Great Hall wasn't staring at them.

"Students, I would like to introduce the two new sixth year students that will be joining Hogwarts," Dippet paused as if to let the new information settle in and continued. "Now let us be kind and extend our hands in friendship to these new students. Let the sorting continue!"

And with that Dippet sat down and leaned forward. Elise's eyes searched for Kira and having found her sitting near Slughorn, Elise smiled.

" _Flauxwood, Arielle,"_ Dumbledore read off and Elise felt Nott squeeze her hand one more time. She had to be sorted into Slytherin.

As Elise sat down on the stool and the Sorting Hat was placed on her head, she couldn't help but beg the hat to sort her into Slytherin.

" _My, my,"_ the hat began and Elise could feel it stirring on her head, getting comfortable.

" _Please put me in Slytherin Mr. Sorting Hat,"_ Elise asked, hands clenched around the stool and her eyes shut clamped shut.

" _I don't take requests before viewing the contents of one's innermost thoughts. Now lets see. Very kind and loyal. Though sometimes to the point of stupidity."_ At that Elise flinched at the personal attack.

" _But a very sharp and creative mind. Perhaps Ravenclaw would be for the best."_ Elise interrupted with a strong " _NO!"_ and the hat chuckled.

" _Now why wouldn't you want to be sorted into Ravenclaw?"_

" _I just want to be sorted into Slytherin to help someone. I just can't let them suffer there, so I thought I could take his place."_ At that the hat became silent.

" _I guess you are rather ambitious and determined. But do be wary of those that are around you."_ And with that the Sorting Hat shouted Slytherin.

" _Thank you Mr. Sorting Hat,"_ Elise whispered to the hat as she gently took it off her head and handed it to Dumbledore. The Hat seemed to smile and Elise turned to the cheering table of green with a grin, being careful with her steps. She avoided looking at Nott and hoped that he would take it upon himself to be sorted into Ravenclaw.

Alphard started waving at her and she sat down at the space that he left between him and Mulciber. Elise couldn't find it in her to care about Mulciber and the wicked smile he sent her as she turned her body to face Nott. As Dumbledore read off _Petrov, Mikhael,_ Nott walked up to the hat confidently, his gait reminding her of Draco. As he sat down on the stool, Dumbledore lifted the hat to put it on Nott and the hat sat on his fluffy, neatly combed hair for what seemed to be hours before yelling out _Slytherin._

With that, the sorting was over and Elise watched as Nott strode over to the Slytherin table and squeezed in between Elise and Mulciber, ignoring the space that Rosier had created across from them. Elise shuffled over to give Nott more room but ended up pressed against Nott's slightly muscular frame and Alphard's lanky frame. Alphard put his arm around Elise's shoulders and Elise smiled at him before turning to look at Nott with what she hoped was an angry face. Nott was already looking at her with a slight smirk on his face as he leaned on his hand. But before Elise could even open her mouth, there was a loud clap of hands in front where Headmaster Dippet stood looking around. Elise was watching Headmaster Dippet as he stood there quietly for a couple of seconds, making sure he had everyone's attention before making his short announcement.

"Welcome students, welcome! So many faces, new and old along with one at the high table. I would like to introduce the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Kira Petrov, who was selected for the position by the Minister of Magic himself," at that Kira stood up and inclined her head in thanks with a small smile on her face.

"The rules have not changed. The most important ones being that there should be no use of magic in the halls, no entering the Forbidden Forest and that all students should be in their dorms by eight and asleep by ten. If you have any questions you may approach your head of house or you Prefects. Now, the feast." And with a flourish of Headmaster Dippet's arms, food appeared on the golden plates, to which Elise clapped her hands.

The beginning of the year feast in the 40s was very different from the food that was available back in her time. Though the feast wasn't extravagant as the one at home, the food seemed to be overwhelming compared to the fact that two wars that were still playing out, considering that one was a world war.

Elise ignored the food and turned to Alphard, who was busy spooning potatoes onto Cygnus and Elias's plates while they both tried to stop him from treating them like seven year olds. When Alphard was done coddling the two boys, Elise tapped his shoulder, getting his attention.

"Can we please change seats? I'm rather upset," at this she threw a glare over her shoulder at Nott who was staring at her with an amused look, "at Mikhael."

Alphard just looked between them and sighed before standing up and switching seats with her. As Elise settled down in her new seat away from Nott, she looked around. Sitting across from her was Cygnus and Elias and sitting on the other side of her was that boy that she ran into on the train. He was dishing a small amount of potatoes on his plate when Elise interrupted him.

"You might want to eat some more potatoes," upon hearing her words, everyone at the Slytherin table seemed to hold their breath as the boy slowly raised his head to look at her.

"Excuse me?" The words coming out of his mouth didn't seem like a question but more of a demand of what she was trying to accomplish.

"I said that you may want to eat more potatoes. You're rather skinny and you look like you may fall over at any time. Anyway, my name is Arielle Flauxwood. It's nice to meet you…" the boy seemed to narrow his eyes at Elise's rambling towards the end when she ran out of breath and stuck her hand out to shake his.

"Tom Riddle, Miss Flauxwood. My name is Tom Riddle.I am rather charmed to meet you acquaintance" As he shook her hand, he looked up at her with a charming smile, but Elise felt the blood drain from her face. She snatched her hand out of his and turned to her plate, her hands shaking.

"Are you all right Miss Flauxwood," Riddle, no, Voldemort asked.

"N-nothing," Elise stuttered warming her hands together. She could feel the heat of Nott's stare on her face, begging her not to mess up. Riddle didn't seem to care for her answer as he stared at her as she started piling food on her plate.

"I just fell in the lake and I'm still a little chilly from that." Riddle nodded and pulled out his wand. At this, Elise started choking on the potatoes that she started shoveling into her mouth as an excuse not to talk.

"Is there a problem Miss Flauxwood," Riddle asked with a fake look of concern on his face. Elise shook her head and she could feel her eyes bulging as Riddle waved his wand at her. Elise felt a nice warm sensation all the way to her toes instead of the Killing Curse that she was expecting.

"Thank you Mr. Riddle," Elise says to him with a smile after she finished choking. And with a wave of her wand a flower crown similar to Nott's landed on Riddle's head.

"A small thank you gift from me." And with that, Elise went back to piling food on her plate and on Riddle's plate, ignoring the weird looks he was throwing her way. Elise continued shoveling food in her mouth, thinking of how she should present herself and how to get into the Ravenclaw common room to search for the amulet.

Dinner and dessert passed by quickly with Elise giving very energetic responses and retelling her run in with the Giant Squid with erratic hand motions. She felt tired from the fake amount of energy she was spouting out. That along with her fall in the water and Riddle almost scaring her to death made her want to just fall asleep for several years. But instead she continued acting like a happy little idiot.

Her plan seemed to work as she could feel the waves of irritation from Riddle. Nott had stopped staring at her a while back and was instead engaged in conversation with a young girl who was introduced to be Rosier's sister. When all the food had disappeared from the table, Elise stood up, stretching slightly. Everyone started leaving as the appointed prefects from each house gathered the first years. Elise was inclined to follow the first years when a jovial Slughorn came into her path.

"Greetings Miss Flauxwood," he cried out, grabbing her hand and shaking it enthusiastically. Everyone behind her awkwardly walked around them except for Nott and Riddle. They both stood pressed next to her and Nott was the second person to get Slughorn's attention. If this annoyed Riddle, it didn't show as his face remained impassive with his charming smile painted on.

"And Tom my boy," Slughorn said joyfully pulling Riddle into a hug. Riddle just awkwardly patted Slughorn on the back and when Slughorn let go, Elise saw him wipe his hands on his pants with a look of slight disgust on his face when he thought no one was looking. And as if he knew that Elise was watching him, he put a bright smile back on his face.

"Mr. Petrov and Miss Flauxwood would be honored to have a short tour of the school tomorrow morning," at this Riddle inclined his head towards Slughorn.

"It would be my pleasure." At this Slughorn clapped Riddle on the shoulder and bid everyone good night as he left to go talk to Professor Dumbledore. Elise and Nott awkwardly stood waiting for Riddle to lead the way to the dungeons.

"I'll be off to do my prefect rounds," Riddle said with a nod towards Nott. He turned around with a swish of his robes.

"Wait," Elise cried grabbing on to Riddle's sleeve. He turned and looked at her hand on his sleeve with a raised eyebrow. Elise didn't let go until Riddle looked up at her.

"Where are the Slytherin dormitories?"

Riddle checked the watch on his wrist and then sighed before motioning for Elise to follow him. He walked in a quick, swift motion towards what Elise had known to be the dungeons. As she approached the dungeons Elise stopped behind Riddle, who had stopped suddenly. Nott had ran into her back slightly and Elise turned around and glared at him. She was still upset at him for not following his own plan and Elise knew that she had to take matters into her own hands.

"The password,' Riddle said staring at the wall ahead of them, "is parseltongue." At his voice the wall had opened to create a stone arched door for them to enter. Riddle took one more look at his watch and bade them goodbye before leaving in the now familiar swish of his robes. Elise entered first looking around.

The dormitory seemed to flicker as she entered it through a small hall from the arched door. It quickly changed from a dark and gloomy room to a room with beautiful green carpentry and silver accents. It finally stuck to the room with the silver accents and Elise looked around in awe. The carpet was a soft deep green that reminded her of the grass that she used to lay on with Nott when they were younger. The ceiling was a high, gothic cathedral style ceiling. There seemed to be two main floors that the Slytherins traveled through and there were many fireplaces though the main fireplace was obvious because of its sheer size. One of the walls was just a glass wall where the Great Lake was visible along with its murky contents. It was a beautiful common area with bookcases lining the length of one of the main walls and with many candles burning all around the room.

Elise walked forward and continued to look around. Ignoring Nott, who was following her, she started walking towards the area where the girls' dormitory should be. The sixth year girls' dormitory was past two of the landings. Elise quickly started climbing up the stairs when she felt a hand on her arm. She was surprised when it wasn't Nott who greeted her but a girl with beautiful fawn colored hair and hazel eyes. She was shorter than Elise but was well endowed, which was something that Elise had noticed with slight jealousy. And she seemed to be the sixth year prefect.

"If you want, I can help you and your friend get around the school. We have a free day tomorrow and I'm free to show you around."

The girl was fidgeting with her hands as she looked up at Elise. Elise stared at her blankly before realising she had to respond.

"Oh, yeah of course. That would be great…" Elise had trailed off, leaving space for the girl to fill in the blank with her name.

"Evelyn," she responded with a smile.

And with that Elise and Evelyn went up to their dorm, making light talk and speaking about what they had to do before sleeping. And for once after meeting Nott again with his new bold personality, did everything feel normal.


End file.
